I hope everyone had a great week, and that you’re all ready for this weekend’s challenge!

As its name implies, the Seated Knee Stabilizer And Strengthener is an exercise that you can conveniently practice while sitting down. It increases your knee mobility and stability by working your quads.

And if you suffer from knee pain, this low-impact exercise is perfect because your knees do not have to bear any weight.

Let’s get started!

Why:

The quadriceps – the muscles on the front of your thighs – are some of the most important muscles with regard to knee joint stability. The other main knee supporters are the hamstrings on the backs of the thighs. The quadriceps (quads) are made up of four muscles: the vastus intermedius, vastus medialis, vastus lateralis, and rectus femoris. These all attach directly to the kneecap (patella) at various points on its top and sides, so they play a direct role in holding the patella in place.

Patellae that are supple but stable are able to do their job without pain or injury to the knees, or tibiofemoral joints. In fact, your knees are two of the strongest joints in your body, allowing you to perform an enormous number of tasks, from sitting down and standing to running and walking.

The knees themselves are synovial joints, meaning the bones of the upper and lower leg are joined by a fibrous capsule filled with thick, oily synovial fluid secreted by the synovial membrane that lines the inside of the joint capsule. While the knees are hinge joints, permitting the flexion and extension of the lower leg relative to the upper leg, the articulation of the knees is such as to allow rotational movement as well.

To perform all these amazing (and often subtle) motions, the knee joint utilizes various tendons and muscles of the legs. The quads, as mentioned above, are four of the most important. Strengthening this fourfold muscle group is an excellent way to improve the strength and integrity of the knee joint.

How:

This exercise is best done sitting on a bench, but a chair will also work as long as you can lean back a little.

1. Sit forward on the bench or chair, feet flat on the floor.
2. Placing your hands on the front edge of your seat, lean back slightly.
3. Using your quads, straighten your legs and raise both of your feet up until they are straight out in front of you. If possible, raise them to the level of the bench or chair. (If not, no worries; just get as high as you can.) Hold this position for a few seconds.
4. Slowly bring your feet back down to the floor.
5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 eight to 10 times, adjusting as needed for your fitness level.

Tip:

• Don’t lean back too far; you want to use your knee joints, not your hips, to raise your legs.

I love how convenient this move is! Like the exercises in the Densercise™ Epidensity Training System, you can do this just about anywhere, anytime. No special equipment is required, and you don’t need much space. These other Weekend Challenges are similarly simple (and very effective), and make good companions to this weekend’s move:

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I hope you’ll enjoy this challenge, and that you’ll share your thoughts and opinions on this exercise by leaving a comment below.

Have a great weekend!